Domestic terrorismStudy shows more non-Muslim terrorists in U.S.

A new report found that the number of American Muslims involved in terrorist acts dropped by more than half compared to 2009; in 2010 twenty American Muslims were arrested for terrorism, down from 2009’s peak of forty-seven; in 2010 there were more than twenty plots by non-Muslims compared to the ten Muslim Americans arrested for domestic plots; the report supports the argument that fears of domestic radicalization are exaggerated, and was released after the American woman calling herself “Jihad Jane” pled guilty to recruiting terrorists to kill a Swedish cartoonist; Representative Peter King is preparing for domestic radicalization hearings in the House’s Homeland Security committee

A new report found that the number of American Muslims involved in terrorist acts dropped by more than half compared to 2009. It also revealed that more non-Muslim Americans were involved in terrorist plots than Muslim Americans.

The study, conducted by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University, showed that last year twenty American Muslims had been arrested on charges of terrorism, down sharply from 2009’s peak of forty-seven.The spike in 2009, which has raised fears of increasing domestic radicalization, was largely an aberration due to the arrest of a group of seventeen Somali-Americans who had joined al-Shabaab in Somalia.

The number of plots by Muslim Americans against domestic targets dropped from eighteen in 2009 to ten in 2010.

Last year there were more than twenty plots by non-Muslims including Joseph Stack who crashed an airplane into an IRS building in Texas.

David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center, said that the study, “puts into perspective the threat presented by domestic radicalization of Muslim Americans.”

He adds, “Americans should take note that these crimes are being perpetrated by a handful of people whose actions are denounced and rejected by virtually all the Muslims living in the United States.”

The study comes as Congressman Peter King (R-New York), the new head of the Homeland Security committee, is preparing for hearings on the radicalization of U.S. Muslims.

Representative King has rebuffed requests from Democratic lawmakers, including the committee’s ranking Democrat, Representative Bennie Thompson (D–Missippi), to “broaden the scope” of the hearings to include non-Muslims.

King said the investigation will remain “focused on the radicalization and recruitment of people within the American Muslim community by foreign Islamic terrorist groups, primarily al-Qaeda.”

The scheduled hearings have also drawn criticism from many Muslims across the country including those living near King’s district.

In Queens, New York, minutes from the portion of Long Island that King represents, Muslims say that the hearings are unfair.

Ghias Bhuiyan, a member of a mosque in Queens, says, “Congressman Peter King, what he says is very offensive and this is not fair. What he’s saying is going to jeopardize Muslim livelihood.”

While Jamaica, New York resident Menah Eltouby, says “you don’t have to be Muslim to be a terrorist. Terrorists come in every religion, culture. There are Americans who are terrorists.”

Just one day before the release of the Triangle Center report, Philadelphia housewife Colleen LaRose admitted that she had used the screen name “Jihad Jane” to recruit Islamic holy warriors over the Internet to kill a Swedish cartoonist.

In a statement on his Web site, King explains, “There’s a disconnect between outstanding Muslims who contribute so much to the future of our country and those leaders who — for whatever reason — acquiesce in terror or ignore the threat. It is this disconnect that threatens the security of us all.”

The Triangle Center notes in its report that with “Muslims comprising about 1 percent of the American population, it is clear that Muslims are engaging in terrorism at a greater rate than non-Muslims — though at a low level compared with overall violence in the United States.”

Since 9/11 thirty-three people have been killed in the United States in terrorist attacks — or roughly three deaths per year. This compares to the approximately 150,000 murders committed in the United States since then.